"Ding! Congratulations, Host—Prestige Points +99,999!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host—Prestige Points +99,999!"
…
As Lin Xuan strolled down the street, a series of pleasant system notifications echoed in his mind.
The chaos sweeping across the Sabaody Archipelago had brought him several hundred thousand points of Prestige Points in just a short while!
He had also noticed a pattern—his system only gave him a notification when his accumulated Prestige Points reached 9,999 or 99,999 at a time.
Which, honestly, suited him just fine. If it chimed every second, it would get annoying fast.
Of course, if Lin Xuan wanted to, he could look up exactly where each batch of Prestige Points came from—who had contributed it, and what emotional reaction had triggered it.
At that moment, as he and Uchiha Madara continued their leisurely "dog walk" around the island—parading their Celestial Dragon captives while admiring the scenery and the terrified faces of the masses—Lin Xuan suddenly noticed something drop from the hands of a man running away in panic.
A few newspapers fluttered to the ground.
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow and casually picked them up.
Madara gave him a puzzled look. "Why bother with a few scraps of paper?"
Lin Xuan smiled lightly. "We've got nothing better to do. Might as well read the news! Who knows, maybe what we did today will make the headlines tomorrow."
Madara glanced at the papers briefly before losing interest almost immediately. To a man like him—a traveler from another world—appearing in the local news meant nothing at all.
Of course, what he didn't know was that Lin Xuan wasn't reading the paper for entertainment. He was trying to determine the current timeline of this world.
While Lin Xuan skimmed the pages, Madara's sharp senses picked up someone secretly tailing them. The stalker was none other than Disco, the manager of the human auction house.
However, Madara didn't act. He was certain Lin Xuan had already noticed, and since Lin Xuan hadn't moved to deal with the spy, there was no need for him to either.
After following them for a while, Disco quietly slipped away into a deserted alley. From his pocket, he pulled out a special Den Den Mushi.
This was the private communication line to his real boss—the man behind the auction house.
In truth, the human auction business wasn't solely run by the Celestial Dragon. It was a joint venture—one they shared with none other than Donquixote Doflamingo!
In the underworld, Doflamingo was a man who played both sides—noble and criminal alike. Once a Celestial Dragon himself, he had seized control of a kingdom and declared himself its king.
His ties with the World Government were murky at best. At the same time, he ruled over an extensive criminal network and dabbled in every dirty business imaginable. The human auction house—where Celestial Dragon, nobles, and the wealthy came to buy slaves—was just one of his many lucrative enterprises.
The Dragons valued Doflamingo because his influence spanned the globe, capable of capturing rare and exotic beings to satisfy their twisted tastes.
Beyond that, Doflamingo also ran an underground arms trade, secretly collaborated with the scientist Caesar Clown to produce artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits, and maintained dealings with one of the Four Emperors—Kaido himself.
And yet, even he—a man with power stretching from heaven to hell—was left dumbstruck when he heard that someone had beaten a Celestial Dragon, collared them like a slave, and paraded them through the streets of Sabaody Archipelago.
Who in their right mind would do such a thing?!
At first, Doflamingo didn't believe it. After a long, stunned silence, he suddenly burst into raucous laughter.
"Fufufu—Disco, has running the auction house made you so full of yourself that you think it's funny to tell me such ridiculous jokes?"
Disco was nearly in tears. "Boss, I swear I'm not joking! I can't believe it myself, but it's real! The Marines's probably already on the way! Please, you have to do something before it's too late!"
Doflamingo's grin slowly faded.
True enough—who in the world would dare lie to him about this? That would be suicide.
Which meant… it real?
Someone had really assaulted a Celestial Dragon—and turned them into a public spectacle?
Who the hell has that kind of death wish?!
Cursing internally, Doflamingo's mind spun rapidly—until a sudden thought flashed through his head. His tone turned icy as he asked, "Disco… you're sure no one's with you right now?"
Disco, confused by the sudden question, still answered honestly, "No, boss. I made sure to find a quiet, hidden spot before calling you."
"Good," Doflamingo said softly—and then he started to laugh.
Disco, misunderstanding, thought his boss had come up with a plan. "Boss! What should I do next?"
But Doflamingo's reply made his blood run cold.
"What you should do has nothing to do with me. You and I… we're not that close, are we?"
Disco froze, face draining of color. "Boss—you can't do this! You can't just abandon us!"
"Fufufufu…" Doflamingo's laughter oozed from the Den Den Mushi, chilling and mocking. "Disco, from this moment on, that auction house is yours. It has nothing to do with me. So don't bother calling again—ever. Hehehehehe…"
Click.
The line went dead.
Panicking, Disco frantically tried calling again—but the line refused to connect.
"Thud."
His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground, blank-faced and trembling.
"It's over," he whispered in despair. "We're completely finished this time…"
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